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Ongoing talks for police and taser victims family

PETER LLOYD: The Queensland Aboriginal Legal Service says it's concerned about relations between police and the Indigenous community.

The comments come after the Police Commissioner and senior officers met with the family of an Aboriginal woman who lost her eye after being tasered.

Sheila Oakley is considering compensation and wants the officer involved to be suspended.

Lindy Kerin reports.

LINDY KERIN: It's been a month since Sheila Oakley was tasered by police at her home in Woodridge, south of Brisbane.

One barb landed in her shoulder, the other in her eye.

Indigenous community leader and president of the Group Murri Watch, Sam Watson says she's still deeply traumatised.

SAM WATSON: Sheila is still very distressed. She is still going through an enormous degree of social and emotional trauma. She is still very panicky when she sees police officers, police uniforms or police vehicles, and that is going to take a long, long time to work its way through.

She is still in a very high level of pain and she has to attend the hospital at least once each week.

So, it's not an easy pathway for her and the fact that she has now lost an eye is something that is going to take a long, long time to register because Sheila was a fit, healthy person with all her faculties and very physically mobile and capable and now she has to get used to the rest of her life with only one eye. So this is a terrible tragedy.

LINDY KERIN: After weeks of rallies and demonstrations in support of Sheila Oakley, the Police Commissioner and senior officers last night sat down with members of the woman's family to talk about what happened.

Sam Watson was at the meeting and says further talks will be held.

SAM WATSON: We have concerns about the taser weapon itself, so the police have offered to take family members and community persons onto the police facility and show us how the taser weapons work.

I think that might be helpful in trying to work out exactly what happened number one. And number two, the commission and his senior officers have offered to come to Logan to meet with Sheila Oakley and her family representatives at Logan perhaps at the police station or even at the Logan City Council offices.

So I think that's an important offer.

LINDY KERIN: The Police Ethical Standards Command and the Crime and Misconduct Commission are investigating the incident.

Police have already said the response was justified and have alleged Sheila Oakley threatened officers with a lump of wood.

Sheila Oakley has a different version of events which she shared from her hospital bed shortly after the incident.

SHEILA OAKLEY (archival): I put the stick down and as I was going in to get my bag he pointed the taser at me then they jumped on my back while the taser was still hanging out of my eye. They stuck their knee in and put my hands behind my back and put me in cuffs.

LINDY KERIN: Sam Watson says Sheila Oakley and her family want an independent investigation and he's confirmed a compensation claim is being considered.

That's an idea supported by Shane Duffy from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service in Queensland.

SHANE DUFFY: Well, I think there's an avenue for Mrs Oakley to be able to pursue some legal remedy. After all, we were aware of the damage to her eye and the repercussions. That's going to stick with her for the rest of her life.

LINDY KERIN: Is the Queensland Aboriginal Legal Service concerned about the impact of this incident on the relations between police and the Indigenous community?

SHANE DUFFY: I think any incident with the police with our people in general always has the potential to impact upon the relationship and given the, the, the racial issues that's taking place down in Logan, I think it just compounds the challenges that the Logan Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community are facing - not only as a community in general, but also with the Queensland Police Service.

LINDY KERIN: The Police Commissioner Ian Stewart wasn't available for an interview with The World Today.

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